Stephanie Campbell

2nd set of book critiques

July 7th, 2010

Jane Addams Books

The Storyteller’s Candle
Written by Lucia Gonzalez and illustrated by Lulu Delacre
Children’s Book Press, San Francisco, California, 2008
Respond to the design and layout of the book. What do you think of the cover design, size of the book, font, spacing, and visual elements?

I found this book to be quite unique. The first visual element your eye is drawn to is the bi-lingual text on the cover and throughout the book. One set of text is in English while the accompanying set is Spanish. This is incredibly appropriate since a theme addressed in this book is equal access to books for Spanish speakers. As I read, I found myself comparing the two sets of text for length, similar words, and type of punctuation. I imagine that this could be a non-threatening way to start learning a new language, making me wonder if the characters in the book ever did the same at the Library in New York. The next thing my eye was drawn to was the illustrations. At first your eye just catches the vibrant and realistic illustrations that match the text plot. But then, newspaper print grabs your eye and you realize it is incorporated as parts of the picture like the floor, sidewalk edging, and the backs of chairs. Upon further inspection you catch dates that match the setting of the story. The large size of the book allows the newsprint to be just large enough to thoroughly inspect. The use of an aged newspaper from the period, help ground the story in the past.

Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan
Written by Jeanette Winter
Beach Lange Books, New York, 2009
Do you think the culture of the characters in the book was portrayed fairly? How do you know? What experiences did the author bring that would help him or her represent the culture fairly?

I do feel that the Afghan culture is portrayed fairly in this book because the author includes contrasting elements of the culture. On one hand we see that there is a group religious people (The Taliban) who dictate and restrict the actions of the people, women especially. But in contrast, we see characters who value education and the rich history of the country. So often Americans only see the horrific portrayals Afghans in the media. This book balances that with character’s who fear those in power and who must fight to keep their values alive. In the author’s note, we learn that this is a story based on a grandmother and girl and is recounted by someone who has founded a secret school. Another nice way that Afghan culture is conveyed is through the list Grandma remembers of art and entertainment that used to be assessable to her people.

Pura Belpre’ Books

DoňaFlor: A Tall Tale About A Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart
Written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Raul Colón
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2005
Describe the artwork in terms of style and media. What elements of the illustrations appeal to you? Why?

I suppose if a word were to be attributed to Raul Colón it would be glorious. I think the pictures are done in oil pastels because of the texture patterned in each color. The landscapes are breathtaking and capture the reader’s imagination more with the character Dona Flor looming larger than life in front of the horizons. The colors used are indicative of vibrate Mexican culture, brilliant blues and cheerful yellows completely fill each page. The draw for young children and myself is the expressive faces of Dona Flor throughout the book. The illustrator captivates the emotions of caring, concern, and joy throughout the images. The illustrations add a level of emotion in the text that is not as fully developed in the text.

The Tequila Worm
Written by Viola Canales
Wendy Lamb Books, New York, 2005
Describe one of the main characters. How did the author make this character unique and believable?

Sophia is the main character and narrator of this story. She is a young Hispanic girl who fights back against those who ridicule her Hispanic heritage by beating them at academics and sports. Once she is offered a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, we see an internal struggle begin. Sophia can’t force herself to want the traditions of women in her family and neighborhood. However she struggles with guilt and disappointing a family that she loves, by leaving. Mixed emotions are the mark of humanity and it is this struggle that makes the main character believable. Another instance Sophia is thrown into that parallels reality is her embarrassment over the alter her mother sets up in her dorm room. Almost every child has been mortified by displays of a parent even if they secretly find comfort in them. The uniqueness of this character is developed with her struggle to balance her Hispanic heritage with the culture of the wealthy she encounters at the boarding school.

Schneider Family

Reaching for Sun
Written by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, New York, NY, 2007
How did the author make the story believable? Were you able to relate to the characters in any way? (any fiction genre)

The author makes this story about a girl with cerebral palsy believable several ways. The first is that the main character recounts her year in open verse poetry. The main character is in middle school which is typically an age we see adolescents begin to use poetry to express complex and confusing feelings they are experiencing. Another way the story is believable is that the main character suffers because she is different. She has to go to special education classes which she findshumiliating. It would be to neat and flat of a plot to think that the girl with a handicap easily fits in, feels accepted, and is accepting of her disability. One way the author makes relating to the main character easy is through the ultimate common experience of learning to lie to your parents in middle school to get out of things you’d rather not do.

Waiting for Normal
Written by Leslie Connor
Katherine Tegen Books, New York, NY, 2008
What elements of the author’s style and language drew you into the book? Explain and give examples.

Often an author creates characters whose emotions a reader can relate to; this author pushes the responsibility of carrying the emotions of the character onto the reader. Connor wrote this character so matter of fact and bleak that the reader becomes the cheerleader. The main character, Addie will not dwell on what could be (a better life for her with her step father) and instead focuses on reality and dealing with those cards she’d been dealt (surviving abandonment and neglect of a mother with obvious mental illness). The whole time this book is being read, I kept waiting for the moment Addie wakes up and becomes angry and resentful. As Addie’s situation becomes more desperate (mother gone for more than a week, and only toast and tomato soup left)I couldn’t allow myself to put down the book until something happened for this girl. I couldn’t leave Addie resigned to the existence her mother creates for her because I had taken on feelings of hate and resentment that I felt the main character should have had.

Robert F. Sibert or OrbisPictus Books

Walt Whitman: Words for American
Written by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Brain Selznick
Scholastic Press, New York 2005
What factual information did you learn? Did anything surprise you? (information books, biography, historical fiction) How do you know if this information is accurate?

Having never been a fan of poetry and having being forced to read Walt Whitman’s poetry in high school, I found it refreshing to be able to gain insight into Whitman’s inspiration for his writing. Knowing biographical information about a person and from where they were drawing their ideas from gave me a point of reference into his poems and allowed me to appreciate that Whitman was just trying to express the average American’s voice at the time. Something that surprised me was how involved he was with civil war soldiers. This “down in the trenches” involvement Whitman did during the civil war completely contradicted by construct of who poets are. In my mind, poets are lofty people who sit around and think about ways to elaborately express simple ideas like express feelings, events, objects, and ideas. The accuracy of this information is proven by the numerous sources listed in the back of the book. And one only has to Google Whitman to discover that the basic time line of the book is correct.

My Season with the Penguins: An Antarctic Journal
Written by Sophie Webb
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2000
Respond to the design and layout of the book. What do you think of the cover design, size of the book, font, spacing, and visual elements?

The main text of this book is written as a journal that reveals information gathered about a group of penguins living in Antarctica. The pictures do not match the story line of the text but illustrate factual content of the penguins. The journal entries are adjacent to the pictures that match the concepts discussed in the journal. Although the book does not have accompanying photographs, the illustrations are so realistic you forget you are looking at someone’s drawings. The style is reminiscent of the early field journals Louis and Clark used exploring the Louisiana Purchase. The cover is not nearly as attractive as the inside photographs. The main text is written in standard font, while the captions under the illustration are done in more of a handwriting font.